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Sunday, February 03, 2013

Saturday's long run

Yesterday Sunshine and I ran almost 5 miles together!! We had to start early, because I had an appointment at 10. Therefore, I had to go to Weight Watchers at 8. Therefore we had to start running at 6:30. It was actually really nice- there are usually a ton of dogs out on the trail when we go (around 7:30 or so) and they make Sunshine go bonkers, so it was a nice run without having to do a lot of dog-wrangling.

You can see that the sun is just coming up in these pictures. Also- I just want to point out that in order for Sunshine to get in the back of my car like that, I have to PICK. HER. UP. She weighs almost 70 pounds (and sticks her legs out like a baby deer when I pick her up).

Then I went to all my meetings and came home and had lunch before running errands:

I also earned 11 activity points yesterday, which isn't surprising, since I ran.

TODAY, however, I was struggling to get to 100% of my daily activity. Sundays are really hard for me in that regard- I go to church (and sit) and then have lunch with F (sitting down) and then go to the rehab center to see Pops (and sit) and take a million people communion (and sit down and talk to them). I'm not complaining- I spend a lot of quality time with people on Sunday. But by the end of the day, I'm mentally and emotionally tired... and only at about 25% of my activity for the day.

Today I had to go on two walks. Sunshine liked that.

Also- today I have been thinking about how powerful it can be to take a break from something that is draining for you- even though it might be something you really want/need/feel extremely obligated to do. For example- F's mom has gone to visit Pops every day (except for Saturday when F goes by himself- he really had to convince his mom to take that day off) for a YEAR. And I know she wants to spend time with him and be there for him, but it was just running her ragged- I could tell that she was stressed. Lately she has been taking two more days off a week, and it has made such a difference- I can tell that she's happier and less stressed.

Likewise- my New Year's Resolution was to not do things that I really didn't want to do, out of obligation. I was doing a lot of that, and it was running me ragged- and I can really see a difference in myself since I have made an effort to stop that. Simply putting myself first (not in a selfish way- but in a way where I make sure that my needs are met and not compromised for someone else's wants/needs) has made me happier. I'm not saying that I don't try as hard as I can to meet my husband's needs, or the needs of people at work, or my family or friends. In fact, now that I am meeting my own needs first, I am able to be a better wife, friend, and co-worker. And I am a MUCH better dog-parent :)